The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

Peter Jackson’s latest Middle Earth film has been received quite well by critics and also by Lord of the Rings fans. In this first part of The Hobbit film series, you’ll join Bilbo Baggins’ unexpected adventure, along with the Dwarves and with a will of a wizard, the dwarves set out on a quest to reclaim their hometown from the evil dragon, Smaug. Now, the movie is spectacular, Peter Jackson’s style never gets old. You’ll be amazed by the wonderful scenery and world of Middle Earth. Ian Mckellen reprises his role as Gandalf the grey, one of the wizards of middle earth. You’ll also see new faces, like Radagast the brown, this wizard is the tender of beasts. He is a great wizard in his own way, as Gandalf described him in the film. You’ll also see Rivendell and the elves of Middle Earth. You won’t be bored with this movie, especially if you know the lore of middle earth. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan then you won’t be lost in the story. You’ll even venture into some familiar sites of middle earth. There are a lot of nostalgic scenes here. You’ll be able to notice that if you read the books or watched the Trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. They also introduced new areas or places in middle earth, examples of that would be the forest of Mirkwood and the evil fortress Dol Go dur.

One of the best parts in this movie is the “Riddles in the Dark” scenes. Gollum’s character has never been so personified that you’ll be amazed by Andy Serkis’ great performance as Gollum. In this scene, Bilbo and Gollum battle out with a game of riddles. Now this is one of the best parts, so I’m not gonna spoil you on this one, instead I’ll just say that every second in this scene is spectacular and amazing. It is in this scene that Bilbo will also find the ring of power. You’ll be highly entertained with this film. Especially, if you are a fan of fantasy movies and Lord of the Rings. Sir Ian Mckellen did a great job as Gandalf. I couldn’t imagine anybody else who could do this role apart from Sir Ian. Sir Christopher Lee also reprises his role as Saruman once again.

Peter Jackson also shot the movie in 3D using a special camera called the “Red” Camera. You can also choose to watch the movie through 24 frames per second (the standard), or you can watch it in full 48 fps. However, there were a lot of complaints saying that when you watch it in 48 fps, the movie feels like it’s a “TV drama”. The 48 fps makes the movie run smoother than the standard one but the disadvantage of that is you’ll see some of the scenes more unrealistic. For example, while watching in 48fps you’ll notice that the movie materials look “super real”, this means that you’ll notice “set paints”, prosthetic noses, you’ll see those clearly. So this detracts you from the overall experience. I suggest that you’ll watch this in the standard movie frame, which is 24fps, it’s much better than the 48fps. It gets some time to get used to, because 48fps is so smooth that you are watching actors on set rather than on film.

Overall, the movie is fantastic and nonetheless great. Even though it’s not as “intensely” well received as the first Lord of the Rings movie, it still does a great job in re introducing you into the world of Middle Earth once again. The only drawback for me, based on my opinion is the end part. I really want more, I don’t even mind if the first part of this three part film would be five hours, but in the end I realized at least I will be seeing more of this in the future. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan or a fantasy fan, you have to watch this movie. It’s really beautiful, especially the battle scenes, story and the scenery, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll also find great acting from the actors, as expected of them. If you have nothing to do, check this movie out and have some fun in the world of Middle Earth.